Brad Pitt scored a major victory against his ex-wife Angelina Jolie in their bitter legal battle over their French winery, Château Miravel.
Pitt’s Legal Victory Over Jolie
A judge ruled that Jolie, 50, must turn over private emails and text messages when it comes to the sale of her portion of the vineyard. Pitt, 62, and Jolie had bought the winery back when they were still together. Jolie has 45 days to turn over the emails and texts.
A source told Page Six that the “emails would prove Jolie has been disingenuous since the start regarding her true intentions about selling her share of the business.”
Pitt’s lawyers reportedly said that Jolie “is abusing the privilege to bury critical documents that go to the heart of the case.”
Jolie has since fired back through her legal team. Indeed, her lawyer said that they are “disappointed by the court’s interpretation of California’s privilege law.”
“The court’s ruling violates that law, undermines Ms. Jolie’s fundamental right to a fair trial, and represents yet another manifestation of Mr. Pitt’s years-long effort to harass and control her,” Jolie’s attorney told Daily Mail. “We will appeal.”
Pitt And Jolie’s Legal War
Pitt is currently suing Jolie for allegedly illegally selling her share of the vineyard to the Stoli Group back in 2021. The former couple bought the vineyard together in 2008 for $28.4 million.
In a filing back in February, Pitt alleged that he and Jolie agreed not to sell their shares without consulting one other. They had reportedly planned to raise their six children on the vineyard. Their ultimate goal was allegedly to turn it into a family business.
Pitt asked back in October that Jolie submit all communications with her business manager, Terry Bird, Chloe Dalton and Arminka Helic, her publicists, and two financial consultants. He claimed in legal documents that Jolie communicated with Bird about both her personal and professional life, including litigation.
“[Jolie admitted] Bird ‘helped [her] identify additional issues on which to seek advice,’” Pitt’s lawyers alleged.
“What Jolie is describing here are brainstorming sessions between non-lawyers,” the filing continued. “The fact that these brainstorming sessions may have followed or preceded advice from a lawyer on the same general topic or a related topic does not shield them from discovery.”
It’s Jolie’s communications with Bird regarding the “terms of sale” to the Stoli Group in 2021 that Pitt believes are “the key transaction at issue in this litigation.”
“[Jolie] has still produced only one internal email that even mentions the terms of the sale at the center of this case,” Pitt’s legal team stated.
Pitt And Jolie’s History
Pitt and Jolie met on the set of the 2005 movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith. At the time, Pitt was still married to the former Friends star Jennifer Aniston. They soon split and he immediately began dating Jolie.
Pitt and Jolie went on to marry in 2014 in a ceremony at their winery in rural France. Jolie then filed for divorce just over two years later. Jolie filed for divorce days after an alleged altercation on a private jet flight. There, Jolie alleges that Pitt was abusive to her and their six children.
Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in 2016. However, it wasn’t until December of 2024 that the divorce was actually finalized. Unfortunately, their court battles are still not over as they continue fighting it out over their French winery.
All six of Pitt and Jolie’s children appear to have taken her side. It is believed that they are all estranged from Pitt these days.
While Pitt has yet to respond to his latest victory, we can only imagine how happy he is about it. Only time will tell where this extremely messy legal battle goes from here.